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ABSTRACT

An entertainment and educational board game which simulates the U.S. economy. The game require participants to play roles such as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), President (represents all branches of government), Chairman of The Federal Reserve System, Banker, Venture Capitalist, Pension Fund Manager and Stock Holders. The game includes travel about a playing path generally along the periphery of the board and the simulated purchase by the players of various companies in different business industries and in the 50 States and the District of Columbia. CEOs can conduct activities such as increase Market Share, introduce new products, sell stocks, introduce new technology, Outsource, Downsize, Inversion, obtain bank loans, obtain Venture Capital investment, purchase Government Securities, win Bid Contracts, win No-Bid Contracts, mergers and acquisitions. The President will represent all branches of government (Executive, Legislative &amp;Judicial) and implement fiscal policies, make new laws, and enforce the rules. The Chairman of The Federal Reserve System will implement monetary policies. The Banker will make loans and maintain customer accounts. The Venture Capitalist will invest in businesses. The Pension Fund Manager will manage the Pension Fund. Stock Holders will invest in company stocks. The object of the game is for CEOs to compete to become the most successful (posses the most wealth) at the conclusion of the game. The game will conclude based on one of three options; when players play to a specific time period; when players play to a specific number of years; or when players play to first player to accumulate a certain amount of wealth. The game provides a somewhat realistic simulation of our economy.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to board games, and, morespecifically to a board game which simulates the United States economyand the pitfalls of running a successful business.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Despite the popularity of computer games, board games continue toincrease in popularity and show no signs of falling into obsolescence.Many board games have been developed to provide entertainment andintellectual challenges to players (e.g. Monopoly, tm), and playerscontinue to seek more challenging and realistic games. Most individualsentering the workforce long for the day when they could start and runtheir own businesses and become successful entrepreneurs. Hence, theneed arise for a board game that gives players the opportunity to act asCEOs and navigate their businesses through the pitfalls of Market Forcesto become successful.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,836 issued to Dino A. Foti, on 30 Jun. 1994describes a board game which simulates travel and financial exchangesbetween participants in two or more nations.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,207 issued to Carlton R. Stanford, Nov. 15, 1993describes a board game which simulates financial events that a personencounters during the person's lifetime.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,026,082, issued to Darrow, Dec. 31, 1935 describes thepopular game of “Monopoly” which is a game of bartering, thus involvingtrading and bargaining.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,182,531, issued to Beard, on Dec. 5, 1939, describes aboard game in which players encounter various financial transactions,the purpose of the game being for the players to achieve certain pensiongoals.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,454, issued to Delamontagne, on Nov. 22, 1983,describes a board game which simulates a retail store environment.

U.S. Pat No. 4,856,788, issued to Mario Fischel on Aug. 15, 1989,discloses a Method Of Playing A Game of Economics and Finance.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,234,181, issued to Barry Howard, on Jan. 30, 1981discloses a board game which simulate the buying and selling ofsimulated stocks.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,236,059, issued to Reda B. Bouabdallah et al, on Mar.27, 1991, discloses an apparatus for playing a game having arepresentation of the European Economic Community thereon. The game isplayed by making simulated investments in various economic sectors.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,707, issued to john S. Koster, on Jun. 19, 1990,discloses a Stock Market board game which simulates the purchases ofstocks.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,457, issued to Sabah Atieth and Jennifer M. Atieth,Jun. 5, 1984, discloses a Stock Market board game which simulates thepurchases of stocks.

U.S. Pat. No. 88/09690, to Johnathan Durr, on Dec. 15, 1988, discloses aboard game which simulates the purchase of residential properties.

None of the above noted patents, taken either singularly or incombination, are seen to disclose the specific arrangement of conceptsdisclosed by the present invention. Accordingly, it is the principalobjective of the present invention to provide a board game whichsimulates the working of the U.S. economy.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention comprises an entertainment and educational boardgame in which a plurality of players attempt to become the mostsuccessful CEO by navigating the economy and avoiding pitfalls toaccumulating the most wealth. The entertainment and educational boardgame includes a playing board having a playing surface on which isillustrated a playing course with a defined path of travel for theplayers, and is further composed of a plurality of joined playingspaces. In addition, one playing space contains indicia which designatesthat playing space as the start point at which play of the board game isto commence. The majority of playing spaces contain indicia which denotea business within a specified industry in one of the 50 States plus theDistrict of Columbia. Several playing spaces contain indicia whichdenote special events such as Market Forces, and Win-A-Contract. Oneplaying space contains indicia which designates that playing space asthe point where players could be cited for committing White CollarCrimes. One playing space contains indicia which designates that playingspace as the point where players is given the opportunity to implementNew Technology. One playing space contains indicia which designates thatplaying space as the point where players play again. It is anentertainment and educational objective of the present invention toprovide a board game to provide players with a friendly and competitiveenvironment to match their business wits.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the board game of the present invention;

FIGS. 2(A) & (B) are rear and front views, respectively, of simulatedmoney for use in playing the game of the present invention.

FIGS. 3(A) & (B) are rear and front views, respectively of Market Forcescards for use in playing the game of the present invention.

FIGS. 4(A) & (B) are rear and front views, respectively of theWin-A-Contract cards for use in playing the game of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 5(A) & (B) are rear and front views, respectively of the WhiteCollar Crimes cards for use in playing the game of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 6(A) & (B) are rear and front views, respectively of New Productcards for use in playing the game of the present invention.

FIGS. 7(A) & (B) are rear and front views, respectively of the MarketShare cards for use in playing the game of the present invention.

FIGS. 8(A) & (B) are rear and front views, respectively of Title Deedcards for use in playing the game of the present invention.

FIGS. 9(A) & (B) are rear and front views, respectively of theDownsizing Before Outsourcing cards for use in playing the game of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 10(A) & (B) are rear and front views, respectively of theOutsourcing Before Downsizing cards for use in playing the game of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 11(A) & (B) are rear and front views, respectively of theDownsizing After Outsourcing cards for use in playing the game of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 12(A) & (B) are rear and front views, respectively of theOutsourcing After Downsizing cards for use in playing the game of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 13(A) & (B) are rear and front views, respectively of theInversion cards for use in playing the game of the present invention.

FIGS. 14(A) & (B) are rear and front views, respectively of the Stockcertificates for use in playing the game of the present invention.

FIGS. 15(A) & (B) are rear and front views, respectively of the Dice foruse in playing the game of the present invention.

FIGS. 16(A) & (B) are rear and front views, respectively of Player Iconsfor use in playing the game of the present invention.

FIGS. 17(A) & (B) are rear and front views, respectively of the NewTechnology cards for use in playing the game of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFFERED EMBODIEMENT

Illustrated in FIGS. 1-17 is a preferred embodiment of an entertainmentand educational board game which can be played by a plurality ofplayers, and which is designed to both provide entertainment for theplayers and enhance their knowledge of managing a business and theworkings of the U.S. economy. The board game includes a foldable,playing board FIG. 1 manufactured from a durable and water-resistantcardboard or plastic material. The course FIG. 1 defines a clockwisepath of travel which the players take during play of the game, and thecourse FIG.1 is divided into a plurality of joined playing spaces 1-23having an oblong shape and each of which contains indicia relating tothe actual play of the game and the overall theme of the game. Oneplaying space 1 has the word “START” contained within its borders andthis START space 1 designates the playing space on which the play of thegame commence. Each player of the game will have a playing piece FIG. 16which the player advances the board FIG. 1, landing the piece on variousspaces 1-23. Each space 1-23 indicates thereon a BUSINESS2/4/5/6/8/10/11/12/15/16/17/18/19/21/22/23 which can be purchased andmanaged; a MARKET FORCE 3 which can be encountered in the course ofrunning a business; an opportunity to WIN-A-CONTRACT 7 and earn money;WHITE COLLAR CRIME 14 for which the CEO will be held accountable;FEDERAL PENITENTIARY 13 where the player will spend their jail time;PLAY AGAIN 9 which gives the player two consecutive chances to play; andNEW TECHNOLOGY 20 which gives the players the opportunity to introduce anew technology and increase revenues. The object of the game is tobecome the most successful CEO by navigating economic pitfalls andaccumulating the most wealth at the conclusion of play. The game willconclude based on one of three options; when players play to a specifictime period; when players play to a specific number of years; or whenplayers play to the first player to accumulate a certain amount ofwealth. The game provides a somewhat realistic simulation of the U.S.economy.

Before providing a discussion of the details of play of the game, theaccessories thereto will now be described.

There is provided a supply of play money FIG. 2 of variousdenominations. The Banker is assigned a specific amount of money at thestart of the game to make loans. The President is assigned a specificamount of money FIG. 2 at the start of the game to fulfill its financialobligations of paying employee benefits, pay for social programs, andpay for services (paying for CONTRACTS FIG. 4 and issue NO-BIDCONTRACTS). The Federal Reserve Chairman is assigned a specific amountof money FIG. 2 at the start of the game to buy Securities (T-Bills &T-Notes), make loans to the Bank and to support the commitments of theBank. Each player (CEOs & Stock Holders) rolls the dice FIG. 15, at thestart of the game, (except the President, Chairman of the FederalReserve System, the Banker and Venture Capitalist/Pension Fund Manager),and receives $1,000,000 for every point scored from the Banker. The CEOswill use the money to buy a business, pay fines, pay employee benefits,pay taxes, buy securities and buy stocks in other companies. The VentureCapitalist is assigned a specific amount of money FIG. 2 at the start ofthe game to invest in businesses as loans or to buy their stocks. ThePension Fund Manager is assigned a specific amount of money FIG. 2 atthe start of the game and continues to receive more annual contributionsfrom corporations and the government which he/she uses to invest andgrow by buying stocks. The Pension Fund Manager will also make annualtransfer of funds from the Pension Fund to the Consumer Fund to simulatepayout of employee benefits. The Consumer Fund is assigned a specificamount of money FIG. 2 at the start of the game. These funds are used topay CEOs $6,000,000 annually for every 25% Market Share FIG. 7 owned perCompany. The Foreign Market fund is assigned a specific amount of moneyat the start of the game. These funds are used to pay CEOs that winforeign contracts.

At the start of the game players who chose to be CEOs and Stock Holdersroll the three Dice FIG. 15 and collect $1,000,000 for every point scorefrom the Bank. There can only be up to nine (9) CEOs and ten (10) StockHolders. The CEO will obtain an icon FIG. 16, that portrait his/herbusiness personality, to represent his/her movements around the boardgame. Only the CEOs continue to roll the three Dice FIG. 15 and movetheir icons FIG. 16 around the board game. The CEOs roll the dice andmove the number of spaces scored on the three Dice FIG. 15. The CEO withthe highest points in the first roll of the dice starts the play thenthe play moves to the CEO with the next higher points and continues inthat order. The CEO Begins play at the START 1 point on the game boardand move in the direction indicated by the arrow. If a CEO throws atriple (three identical numbers on the dice) he/she gets to play again.

When a CEO lands on a company space he/she has the opportunity to buy acompany 2/4/5/6/8/10/11/12/15/16/17/18/19 /21/22/23, if it is notalready owned, for a specified price which he/she then managesthroughout the game. If the Company is already owned the CEO will berequired to pay the owner a Client Fee, as specified on the Title DeedFIG. 8. Companies are spread throughout the 50 States & the District ofColumbia, represents 16 industries (Energy 2, Steel 4, Automotive 5,Technology 6, Marketing 8, Beverage 10, Insurance 11, Entertainment 12,Transportation 15, Telecommunications 16, Financial 17, Construction 18,Defense 19, Medical 21, Legal 22, Office Supplies 23), and companies inthe same industry are color coded. In managing the company for successthe CEO must pay employee benefits and taxes, sell stocks, invest inother companies by buying their stocks, earn money from buyinggovernment securities (T-Bills & T-Notes), increase the Company's MarketShare FIGS. 7, introduce New Products FIG. 6, introduce New TechnologyFIG. 17, Win Contracts FIG. 4, overcome Market Force obstacles FIG. 3,engage in Outsourcing FIGS. 10 & 12, Downsizing FIGS. 9 & 11 andInversion FIG. 13, seek bank loans, seek Venture Capital investment, andengage in Mergers and Acquisitions. CEOs can file for bankruptcy or selltheir corporation(s) if they are unable to meet their financialobligations.

There is provided a set of Title Deeds FIGS. 8 for all 51 Companies.These cards are issued to the CEO when he/she purchase a Company.Possession of the Title Deed card is proof of ownership. The Title Deedscontain a detailed description of the business. It tells the CEO whathe/she is allowed to charge other CEOs who land on that Company's space.It also tells the CEO what annual payments he/she has to make (employeebenefits and taxes).

There is provided a deck of Market Forces FIG. 3 cards which describe anevents that will do any of the following: impact the CEO who draw thecard positively or negatively; impact two or more CEOs, positively ornegatively; or request the President make certain decisions thatpositively or negatively impact the economy. When A CEO's icon FIG. 16land on this space he/she will draw a card, read it out loud, performthe action required, then place the card at the bottom of the deck.

There is provided a deck of Win-A-Contract FIG. 4 cards which offers 1-4year contracts to CEOs. CEOs are instructed to collect a specifiedamount of money FIG. 2 from the Foreign Market Fund annually for eachyear of the contract. When a CEO's icon FIG. 16 land on this spacehe/she will draw a card, read it out loud, perform the action required,then place the card at the bottom of the deck.

There is provided a deck of White Collar Crimes FIG. 5 cards which citesthe CEO for committing a White Collar crime and imposes a Fine orIncarceration, or a combination of both. When a CEO's icon FIG. 16 landon this space he/she will draw a card, read it out loud, perform theaction required, then place the card at the bottom of the deck. A CEOwho receive incarceration will move his/her icon FIG. 16 to the FEDERALPENITENTIARY space 13 on the game board and stay there untilincarceration ends. CEO's convicted of a crime can appeal to thePresident for Reprieve or a Pardon, or make an appeal to have the caseoverturn on appeal.

There is provided New Products FIG. 6 cards which is issued to CEOs bythe President after they pay $1,000,000 to the Consumer Fund tointroduce a new product. CEOs can introduce a New Product FIG. 6 onceper company per year, when it is their turn to roll the Dice FIG. 15.They can introduce up to a total of four (4) New Products. The NewProduct card FIG. 6 should be placed on the NEW PRODUCT place holder 27for the respective Company on the game board. For every New Productintroduced CEOs can collect an additional $500,000 from every CEO thatland on the respective Company's space.

There is provided a set of Market Share FIG. 7 cards which is issued toCEOs after they pay $1,000,000 to the Consumer Fund, to indicate theirlevel of Market Share FIG. 7 ownership for each company. CEOs can onlyincrease their Market Share at 25% FIG. 7 per Company, annually, for atotal of 100%. The Market Share card FIG. 7 should be placed on theMARKET SHARE place holder 28 for the respective Company on the gameboard. For every 25% FIG. 7 Market Share introduced CEOs can collect anadditional $6,0000,000 from Consumer Fund, annually.

There is provided a Downsizing Before Outsourcing FIG. 9 and DownsizingAfter Outsourcing FIG. 11 card for every Company. A CEO can chose todownsize his/her company by laying off 10% of his employees and therebyachieve overhead cost savings of 10%. The CEO must decide whether toDownsize before Outsourcing FIG. 9 or whether to Downsize afterOutsourcing FIG. 11. The CEO cannot perform A Downsizing and anOutsourcing action in the same year. When a CEO elects to Downsizehe/she request the appropriate Downsizing card from the President andfollow the instructions on the card for payments (employee benefits,taxes) requirements. The payment requirements listed on the TITLE DeedFIG. 8 will not longer be in effect.

There is provided an Outsourcing Before Downsizing FIGS. 10 and anOutsourcing After Downsizing FIG. 12 card for every Company. A CEO canchose to Outsource his/her company by laying off 20% of his employeesand thereby achieve overhead cost savings of 20%. The CEO must decidewhether to Outsource before Downsizing FIG. 10 or whether to Outsourceafter Downsizing FIG. 12. The CEO cannot perform A Outsourcing andDownsizing action in the same year. When a CEO elects to Downsize he/sherequest the appropriate Outsourcing card from the President and followthe instructions on the card for payments (employee benefits, taxes)requirements. The payment requirements listed on the TITLE Deed will notlonger be in effect.

There is provided an INVERSION card FIG. 13 for every Company. A CEO canchose to move his/her Company's Headquarter overseas to avoid taxes.This move allows the CEO to reduce Corporate Taxes by 50%. The CEOcannot perform an Outsourcing, Downsizing and Inversion action in thesame year. When a CEO elects to Invert he/she request the INVERSION cardFIG. 13 from the President, pay an initial fee of $3,000,000 to theConsumer Fund and follow the instructions on the card for a 50%reduction in payment of Corporate Taxes. The CEO will be required to payan annual fee to the Foreign Market Fund for the privilege of Inversion.

There is provided a set of ten (10) Stock Certificates FIG. 14 for eachCompany. Each Stock Certificate represents 100,000 Shares. CEOs can sellup to 1,000,000 shares for every Company they own. CEOs will set theinitial offering price and determine how many stocks will be sold in theinitial offering. Secondary offering of shares will be sold at thecurrent market price. When the CEO gets ready to sell stocks he/shefirst gets permission from the President. When the CEO wants to make asecondary offering of shares he/she must take a vote of current StockHolders and get permission from the President. The CEO will obtain theStock Certificates FIG. 14 from the President and offer them to thebuyers as proof of ownership. CEOs must hold an annual meeting of StockHolders to vote on who should act as Chairman to run the day to daybusiness of the company. Majority Vote wins. A Stock Holder can beelected to be a CEO.

There is provided a set of nine (9) Player Icons FIG. 16 whichrepresents nine different CEO personalities. CEO's should select the onethat best depicts their business personality and use them to representtheir movement around the game board FIG. 1.

There is provided a set of NEW TECHNOLOGY cards FIGS. 17 which is usedto represent the introduction of New Technology. When a CEO's icon landon the NEW TECHNOLOGY space he/she is given the opportunity to introducea New Technology once every five years. If he/she elects to introducethe NEW TECHNOLOGY FIG. 17, he/she will contribute $1,000,000 to each ofthe Technology Companies CEOs and obtain a New Technology card from thePresident. After purchasing a New Technology the CEO must wait until thestart of the next year before he/she can achieving a savings of$1,000,000 annually. Introduction of a New Technology allows the CEO toreduce payment (employee benefits) to the Consumer Fund by $1,000,000annually.

The role of the President is to represent all branches of government(Executive, Legislative and Judicial). In that capacity the Presidentcan raise and lower taxes, increase or decrease spending, sellsecurities (T-Bills & T-Notes) to raise money, maintain a budget whichstarts at $150,000,000, implement new rules, appoint the Chairman of theFederal Reserves, impose and lift embargos, grant Reprieve, Pardons, andreduce or overturn a sentence. New rules can be implemented with amajority vote from all players. The President's ruling is finalregarding any disputes in the game.

One individual will play the role of Chairman of the Federal ReserveSystem/Venture Capitalist/Pension Fund Manager/Consumer Fund Manager/andForeign Market Fund Manager. As Chairman of the Federal Reserve he/shewill control the money supply by setting the Discount Rate (interestrate charge to banks for borrowing money from the Federal ReserveSystem), and buy and sell securities (T-Bills & T-Notes). As VentureCapitalist he/she will use a set amount of money to make investment byproviding loans to CEOs or by buying company stocks. As the Pension FundManager he/she will collect Pension Fund payments and invest them incompany stocks and make an annual transfer of funds to the ConsumerFund. As the Consumer Fund Manager he/she will make and collect paymentsto and from the Consumer Fund. As the Foreign Market Fund Manager he/shewill make and collect payments to and from the Foreign Market Fund.

One person will act as the Banker who is responsible for making loans toCEOs and Stock Holders. The Banker will set the Prime Rate (interest onloans to corporations) at least two (2) points above the Discount Rateset by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve throughout the game. TheBanker will make loans to CEOs and Stock Holders in the amount of$1,000,000 to $50,000,000 for a period of 1-10 years. The Banker willalso set a interest rate for customers who deposit money to the bank.

There can be up to ten (10) Stock Holders in the game. Stock Holders usetheir money to invest in Company stocks. They can become a CEO ifelected to become one by a majority of stock holders of a particularcompany.

1. A method of playing a financial board game by a plurality of playerscomprising the steps of: Providing a game board having a path thereon tobe serially traversed; The playing course including a plurality ofjoined playing spaces; Providing a starting point at one of the indicia,at which a player begins the game; Providing playing icons for eachplayer; A plurality of Title Deed cards corresponding to said playingspaces simulating corporations; A plurality of Downsizing BeforeOutsourcing cards corresponding to said playing spaces simulatingcorporations; A plurality of Downsizing After Outsourcing cardscorresponding to said playing spaces simulating corporations; Aplurality of Outsourcing Before Downsizing cards corresponding to saidplaying spaces simulating corporations; A plurality of Outsourcing AfterDownsizing cards corresponding to said playing spaces simulatingcorporations; A plurality of Inversion cards corresponding to saidplaying spaces simulating corporations; A plurality of New Product cardscorresponding to said playing spaces simulating corporations; Aplurality of Market Share Cards corresponding to said playing spacessimulating corporations; A plurality of Stock Certificates correspondingto said playing spaces simulating corporations; A plurality of NewTechnology cards simulating the introduction of a new technology; Aplurality of indicia that serves as place holders for Market Forcescards, White Collar Crimes Cards and Win-A-Contract cards; A pluralityof indicia that serves as place holders for Market Share and New Productcards.
 2. The board game of claim 1 wherein at least one playing spaceof the playing course includes indicia directing that the player landingthereon can be subjected to imprisonment or fine or both.
 3. The boardgame of claim 1 wherein at least one playing space of the playing courseincludes indicia directing that the player landing thereon can besubjected to positive or negative economic forces resulting in thesurrender of gains, (financial or otherwise), or the financial benefits.4. The board game of claim 1 wherein at least one playing space of theplaying course includes indicia directing that the player landingthereon can be awarded a contract for a single or multiple years.
 5. Theboard game of claim 1 wherein at least one playing space of the playingcourse includes indicia directing that the player landing thereon isgranted the opportunity to play again.
 6. The board game of claim 1wherein at least one playing space of the playing course includesindicia directing that the player landing thereon can introduce a NewTechnology.
 7. The board game of claim 1 wherein at least one playingspace of the playing course includes indicia directing that the playertraversing thereon must make outstanding annual payments.
 8. The boardgame of claim 1 wherein at least one playing space of the playing courseincludes indicia directing that the player serve a sentence after beingconvicted of a crime and sentence to a jail term.